4: Friends of Te Henui

Coprosma brunnea (Brown-stemmed coprosma)

Kingdom: Plantae(Unranked): Angiosperms(Unranked): Eudicots(Unranked): Asterids Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Subfamily: Rubioideae Tribe: Anthospermeae Genus: Coprosma Species: C. brunneaBinomial name: Coprosma brunneaCommon name: Brown-stemmed CoprosmaCoprosmabrunnea one of 45 species of Genus Coprosma that are found in New Zealand.Coprosma brunnea grows in lowland to higher montane river beds up to 1500m in open grassland and rocky places on the South and Stewart Islands of New Zealand. This sprawling shrub grows up to 30-40 cm tall with a spread of up to 1 metres across. It has brown stems which are flexible and forms a tangled mass. The leaves are narrow and rather sparse.Very small flowers develop from August to October among the branches and the female plant in January develop 5-6 mm long drupes which are a translucent sky-blue or are translucent white with blue flecks.